Generalized solutions for the Euler-Bernoulli model with distributional forces

We establish existence and uniqueness of generalized solutions to the initial-boundary value problem corresponding to an Euler-Bernoulli beam model from mechanics. The governing partial differential equation is of order four and involves discontinuous, and even distributional, coefficients and right-hand side. The general problem is solved by application of functional analytic techniques to obtain estimates for the solutions to regularized problems. Finally, we prove coherence properties and provide a regularity analysis of the generalized solution. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.